Mothers of the Nation oppose massive Seneca tribal gaming settlement with New York state

Matrilineal tribal power in the spotlight.

Matthew Pagels (center), president of the Seneca Nation, on Jan. 12 announced a controversial casino-revenue settlement with New York state. (courtesy Seneca Nation)

The Mothers of the Nation, a group of Seneca Nation female leaders, is using its matrilineal power to call on the tribe’s leadership to halt a planned payment of at least $800 million to the state of New York in an effort to settle a longstanding gaming dispute.

The mothers say that the tribe should instead wait to settle until the Biden administration’s U.S. Department of the Interior has had a chance to review the legality of the gaming compact in question.